Marketers must ensure that they do not describe a product or service as “free” if it is not. The ASA regularly considers complaints about ads for products or services described as free, but which rely on inflated prices or come with conditions that are not made clear. This is illustrated in a recent ASA Ruling that described a “free” trial subscription to Amazon Prime, which garnered interest in the press.

The hidden costs associated with other types of “free” trial offers can end up costing consumers a considerable sum of money. The ASA has undertaken action against a number of companies for misleading consumers as to the charges they will face when a “free” trial comes to an end. This has often been challenging, particularly when dealing with bogus operators and marketers based outside of the UK. The ASA has taken steps to address this issue by raising awareness and providing information to help consumers protect themselves.

Given that the word “free” is likely to be used in numerous ways, CAP and BCAP have produced joint guidance for marketers:

Free claims.pdf

 

The rules on using “free” in marketing communications are mirrored in the broadcast and non-broadcast Codes but for simplicity, here we will quote the non-broadcast Code.

What do the rules mean and how do they work in practice?

Pure “free” claims

Products and services can only be described as “free” if consumers are not required to pay for anything other than the unavoidable cost of responding. This rule is designed to prevent marketers from inflating the unavoidable costs which render the “free” claim misleading.

CAP has issued specific guidance on Postage and Packing.

Conditional purchase promotions

The word “free” must not be used in instances where the price of the item (which must be purchased to take advantage of the free offer), has been increased above its normal cost. The ASA previously ruled on a complaint about an ad for a magazine subscription offering readers a “free gift” because it found that the subscription was available without the “free gifts” at a lower price.

CAP Guidance in this area is outlined in Free: Sales promotions.

Package Offers

A package comprises a pre-arranged combination of features where customers cannot exercise genuine choice on how many elements of the package they receive for the price, as illustrated by this ASA ruling.

Marketers can describe a feature of a bundle or package as being free (if the price of the package has not increased) if that feature has been recently added and is not intrinsic to the product or service being advertised. However, once that inclusion becomes the norm rather than an additional benefit, it is no longer “free”.

Further advice is set out CAP Advice entries on Free: Internet packages, Sales promotions: Free trials.

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